Granpaw's Journal

I thought with the year coming to an end soon, I would post some of the things that have most influenced my life this year.

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I turned 67.

I became a great Grandfather again.
A son was born to my Granddaughter Lenora
whom she named Deklyn.

My youngest Granddaughter Marci moved into her own apartment with her boyfriend.

The depression that I harbored for so many years lessened somewhat with the realization that things would never be the way I want them to be here on the home place.

I composed a new CD with original songs on it.

The top fell in on our septic tank.

I took my first trip to the Tomahawk fall ride.

I lived with good friends for a short time, I consider them my family now.

My wife of 32 years Moved out…again… and wants a divorce.

A good friend whom I consider family stays with me.

My brother in Oklahoma calls me almost daily.

All these things happening at once leads me to believe there will be even greater changes in my life in 2012…

We shall see
…granpaw

Here is the video…

The man in the video is Aged 96 and still smokes a pipe.
My grandmother aged 92 still dipped Garretts snuff, as did most all of her friends/relation whom I also knew in that age bracket.
They all ate much more “unhealthy” by today’s standards, yet they died from the same causes we die from today only later in life (for the most part).

My guess as to why the above is true would be that there have been more advances in the addition of harmful chemicals for financial gain by “big business”, than beneficial research by government agencies.

Is that a fair statement?
Your comments are welcomed.

I just saw this caption for a photograph on Facebook.

“Father me and carla… after gladution…”

Uh…I’m proud you got through school.
Bet you didn’t pay much attention in spelling huh?

From BBC world news

China Central Television said farmers were overspraying their crops with the growth promoter, hoping they could get their fruit to market ahead of the peak season and increase their profits.

Ain’t it always that bottom line

Read the whole story

Well this morning showed just how co-ordinated I can be at three in the morning after a whopping 4 hour sleep in which I had only been awakened twice…In case your wondering, that is a jar of maple syrup to sweeten my coffee…I opened it up and promptly dumped in a helping of non-dairy creamer.

…Oh Crap!

After many years of standing in the field across the road from me, this old Maple finally met the onward march of population expansion. When I first saw this tree it had an old crumbling deer stand in the fork where some hunter had sat for many years before it rotted apart. Although it is small and gnarled, the tree then withstood two tornadoes that I am aware of and still it lived. Then came the ultimate fate of us all…progress.

This is a not-so-good picture of really old Black Spruce along hyway 86 west of Tomahawk. Back in the 70s experts from Owens Ill. told me the trees were over 100 years old at that time due to the temps in the swamp. Although the trees look large in this image, the majority of them are under 15 feet tall.

I am willing to bet big bucks a couple of my friends can identify this picture.

Click on image to enlarge, hit your browser back button to return

That super duper stick glue stuff that is advertised on the boob tube now…The stuff that sticks anything together…Wood to metal to plastic whatever…you know the one?
The spiel shows a guy sticking it to the door frame and then doing pull ups on it right??? well…it says it sticks anything with no worries about slipping off…then it goes on to say that it is easy to get off just by pulling???
How dumb do they think we are???

I’m writing this at 5 AM during a blizzard that has lasted all night here in Northern Wisconsin. Why so early you might ask, because a spoiled rotten 4 legged furry family member has made it his personal quest that I not sleep past 5 am no matter what.

This morning was no different than any other with one exception…
We have a walk in closet with a shelf 6 feet over the head of our bed. On a normal day, (before daybreak), that darn cat comes in the bedroom from somewhere in the house and starts in telling me it’s almost daylight. If I miss him with the first two or three throws of my slippers he then retires for about an hour like a snooze alarm. This morning, about 3 am, he somehow got his old furry self up onto the shelf in the closet, looked around, and decided it’s time, so he launched himself at the headboard of our bed…He missed…He landed on my head with all four feet neatly aligned with my left ear, his claws were tucked in thank God.

Needless to say he had my full and undivided attention at that point, so in his cat mind he must have figured it was time to go into snooze mode and disappeared before I could retaliate in kind….

Two hours later I sit here rambling on while the snow flies, the dog snores and the other cats and the wife sleep peacefully.
Cat, if you’re reading this, you’re on my list….